The Weekend Reset: Pop Culture in extreme and a feast of summer sensations.

It’s Friday. Looking for something to switch up your weekend, or to give you an excuse to relax a little? That’s what the Weekend Reset is for. Each week contributor Tim Johnstone pulls together five things to get your weekend started. Could be something to read or watch, something to eat or listen to, or even something to do. Enjoy the weekend fellas.

I am a card carrying member of the Shirley Manson fan club. OK not really. They never sent the card. But. I love this woman. From the first time I heard her in this Scottish band, I have been a fan. I had a chance to meet her once upon a time and she was as lovely and charming as I could hope for. And I am such a sucker for that accent. So this Mailchimp produced podcast is immediately appealing to me. Shirley gets the stories about famous songs from artists like Big Boi and Courtney Love and as an artist herself, she is particularly suited to the task. Thank you to the Dappered Space’s Sarah for the heads up.

When Bob Ross’ legendary PBS programs originally aired, he was the butt of satire and jokes due to his laid back style. In retrospect, that joke was on all of us. He really had the right idea. I would give anything to be as good natured and chill as Bob. We need more Bobs. And he was onto something. Painting is a really good way to spend some time, for many reasons. You don’t even have to be good at it. The ladies are already onto this. They flock to Paint and Sip nights, a huge thing these days if my Instagram Feed is any indication. I’m not saying this is the approach you might take. On the other hand…why not? I mean, think of the possibilities. The video above? It’s a fascinating story about a simple mystery: Bob Ross made a great many paintings. So where are they?

Marinated and grilled flank steak. I spent a lot of time watching my dad grill when I was a kid. It was a rare chance to hang out with him due to his schedule. I watched him cook all manner of meat and fish. He loved to grill ribs. He was all about cooking anything on the bone. He also grilled the best BBQ chicken I have had to this day. But my absolute favorite of his go-to’s was his grilled flank steak. At the time, it was considered an affordable cut of meat when compared to the choice cuts on restaurant menus. This cut of meat really takes advantage of a marinade. And it is the perfect pairing with summer greens and veggies as a salad. Can’t recommend this enough.

While browsing Boing Boing recently, I ran across their recommendation for Emily St. John Mandel’s 2014 novel Station Eleven. I was happy to see this. I picked up the book when it came out. It was on the employee picks shelf at my local independent book store. Reviews upon its publication were fantastic and it would be a National Book Award finalist. This is a different kind of post-apocalyptic tale. Ultimately, it is a story about the importance of art. And it is written in such a manner that you are fully engaged with how the story unfolds even as it does so in a way that jumps in time and space. I thoroughly enjoyed this and was genuinely bummed when it ended.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – for pop culture geeks. San Diego’s annual Comic-Con event just wrapped up. In it’s wake, a banquet of trailers and features and big announcements enough to make the most nonchalant dude positively giddy. The folks over at i09 have compiled all of their coverage during the event on this post. There are more than a few big stories from the weekend.